KARACHI, Jan 17: Brisk trading was witnessed on the cotton market on Friday as both spinners and mills made extensive covering purchases at the current level amid predictions of pressure on supplies.

About 30,000 bales changed hands mostly at the higher rates and brokers claim many buying offers failed to find willing sellers as their price ideas were said to be poles apart.

Most of the deals in central Sindh variety were done above Rs2,100, while upper Sindh and southern Punjab fine types were traded around Rs2,200 per maund, while on one-month credit spinners were offering to pay Rs2,225.

Floor brokers failed to give specific reasons behind the mills’ snap buying but some claim that spinners may have found the cue of arrival figures of phutti into the ginneries for the fortnight ended Jan 15, and resorted to panic covering purchases.

But some others said arrival figures may be in line with the general thinking as at this stage it too early to speculate about a lower crop.

“The perception of a short global production appears to be the chief worry of spinners and mills who thought it advisable to cover at least their nearby needs”, they said.

The fears of war after the US attack on Iraq though worried spinners amid fears of interruption in exports of end products, but they were not inclined to take a risk of buying lint at the higher levels, some others said.

Strong presence of private sector exporters also worried them as most of them are offering higher prices to ginners, which means they have firm orders at competitive rates, they said.

On the export front, exporters have sold another 4,556 bales to Japan, Bangladesh and Thailand during the last three days, the total foreign sales up to Jan 15, being 79,213 bales including 52,188 bales of old crop.

Official spot rates were further marked up by Rs10 at Rs2,150 per maund and so did New York cotton futures at 51.52 and 55.06 cents per lb for both the ruling March and the forward May contracts, up by 0.6 and 0.10 cents per lb respectively.

Ready offtake was fairly large totalling about 30,000 bales, the following being some of the important deals:

SINDH VARIETY: 3,800 bales, Nawabshah at Rs2,100, 8,000 bales, upper Sindh at Rs2,175 to Rs2,200, 400 bales, Dharki at Rs2,225 on one-month credit, 200 bales, Sanghar at Rs2,110, 400 bales, Nawabshah at Rs2,110 and 500 bales, Tando Adam at Rs2,125.